This is a recap and appreciation blog for Africa Study Bibles donated to Anchor International Outreach Ministry to equip 200 church leaders in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The summit almost
didn’t happen. The leadership team’s car broke down. A torrential downpour
turned roads into a muddy morass. Attendees faced long and difficult journeys. But
by the grace of God, 200 pastors from Nigeria’s Ekiti State received a great
blessing from Anchor International Outreach ministry.

Anchor
International—one of Oasis’s closest partners—frequently holds leadership
conferences to equip pastors, evangelists, and church leaders from rural or
suburban communities across Nigeria. If you met one of these pastors, you’d be
immediately struck by their zeal for the gospel. Though most of them live off
extremely low salaries and cannot afford the discipleship resources their
ministries need, their passion for Jesus is obvious in every word they speak. These
ministers are not rich or successful by the world’s standards, but their hearts
overflow with love for their Saviour.

On June 27th, 200
of these Nigerian pastors made the rainy journey to Anchor International’s “Leading
the Next Generation Leaders Summit.” These dedicated preachers gathered at Ado
Ekiti’s Christ Apostolic Church with open ears and open hearts, ready to
receive the teaching that God had prepared for them.

They were not
disappointed. Rev Dr Emmanuel Adeyinka Aribasoye, the keynote speaker of the
summit, delivered a powerful message on leadership. Several other speakers
discipled the pastors by training them in orthodox theology, encouraging them
to surrender every area of their lives to God, and teaching them how to apply
the truth of Scripture to their individual contexts. As the day continued, the
pastors learned how to develop the basic skills they need for their pastoral
tasks—including sermon preparation, church administration, and marital
counselling.

But for many of
the ministers, the highlight was a more tangible blessing. By partnering with
Oasis International’s God’s Word for Africa programme, Anchor was able to
provide each of the 200 attending pastors with their own copy of the Africa
Study Bible!

Armed with this
accessible, easy to-understand resource, these pastors are now able to study
God’s Word like never before. The Africa Study Bible’s culturally
relevant stories will help them deliver sermon illustrations that their
audiences can understand and appreciate. The book’s notes and articles (written
by African scholars) will help them deepen their faith and learn more about
their incredible God. When the 200 attendees walked out of the leadership
conference with the Africa Study Bible, a new chapter in their ministries
began.

Though the June
conference was a great success, Anchor refuses to rest on their laurels.
Already, Anchor has planned to host four more leadership conferences in
Nigeria’s Oyo, Ondo, Osun, and Ogun states by the end of 2023! Between these
four conferences, Anchor is hoping to distribute 600 more copies of the Africa
Study Bible to rural pastors. But Anchor’s not stopping there—they are also
launching a new ministry centre to equip another 500 pastors, missionaries,
evangelists, and Bible college/seminary teachers serving in Nigeria’s Ogun and
Lagos states.

Oasis is proud to
work with such a dedicated gospel partner. Whatever the future holds, we’re
grateful that God has used us to support the work of such a valuable ministry.
We praise God for Anchor International, and look forward to a long partnership
that bears much gospel fruit!

Thank you for your consistent generosity that enables us and our partners to equip church leaders in Africa. Are you looking to give to more projects like this, please click here.